Rovers inched themselves half a yard towards safety after a very valuable point was earned away at Middlesbrough, following a 0-0 draw that extended their unbeaten Riverside run to nine fixtures. John Eustace was left pleased with his side’s application in their goalless draw as he reflected on the afternoon with RoversTV.
“Today’s performance was excellent. I thought we were very good with and without the ball, today. The final third is where we need to keep improving and believing that we can score goals, but overall, I thought it was a very positive performance. I thought the 1,000-odd fans who made the trip up were amazing and really supported us throughout the whole game and they were certainly the 12th man. I thought the commitment from the players, was excellent and they’ve been outstanding since I’ve come in and you can see their fight and togetherness.
“It’s very important that we keep picking up points. Obviously, I’m disappointed that we haven’t won as many games as we would have liked to, but having lost eight out of the eleven games that were played before I arrived, it shows good signs of improvement. It’s good to keep picking points up, but we need to start winning games.
“The togetherness between the fans, supporters and the staff are aspects that I want to embed into the club. The fans and the players are the most important aspect of the club and whatever is going on outside the football club, is nothing to do with us. We can’t control off-field matters. The most important thing is that the players and fans are together. There are going to be some difficult moments, of course there are, but our fans are going to play a huge part in the last eight games of the season. We need them to be as positive as they can. Today’s performance was great, and the fans were outstanding, as they have been since myself and my staff have arrived.
“We’ve had an excellent week on the training field and have been able to implement a couple of ideas for the group. We’ve worked very hard on our defensive structure, which I thought was very evident today, but we also worked on some really good patterns of play and discussed how we could hurt Middlesbrough, and I thought that work showed in today’s game.
“Of course, we want to win games; I don’t want to keep drawing games, but it’s also important that we remain competitive, both, home and away and that teams know that we’re fighting to stay in this league. I think that’s our sixth clean-sheet and two in the last three away games, as well. It’s important that we keep making those small steps and sticking together whatever happens.
“It’s evident that we need to score more goals. It’s important that Sammie (Szmodics) isn’t the only person putting the ball in the net. We need other people to step up, take the shackles off and take responsibility, which we’ve spoken about this week. The effort of the group is immense; they’re very honest and committed, which you can see in the performances that have occurred since I’ve been here. It’s important that the fans see that as it gives them something to support and follow. We just want to keep fighting; we’re fighters, not victims. Everything else that’s going on behind the scenes and away from the football is something we can’t control. The only thing we can control is our commitment and coach the team, and the players have certainly been showing that commitment.
“The change in formation was the right shape to give us the best chance towards winning the game and keeping us competitive. The shape was good. It worked and I thought the back four were outstanding. It was great to see Aynsley (Pears) back between the sticks and gaining a clean-sheet that will boost his confidence. Sondre (Tronstad) coming back in made a huge difference in the midfield and John (Buckley) ran the game for an hour before tiring. Yasin (Ayari) came in again and put in a good shift. It was a group effort today and although we’re disappointed that we didn’t win, we’re making small steps forwards and the togetherness between the fans and players is the most important aspect. I think that was very evident towards the end.
“Ryan (Hedges) and Sondre are warriors and true professionals. The way they conduct themselves whether that being in training at Brockhall or on matchdays, is top drawer. That doesn’t just stop with Ryan and Sondre, though. That goes for a lot of the group. They’re all very committed, professional and have Blackburn Rovers at heart and they all want us to do well.
“We want as many players back fit as possible and we will be trying to do that over the international break before the final eight games. If we can’t get players back, then we know and can see the commitment of the group that we have available, and we’ll roll our sleeves up and get on with our work. We have to turn some of the draws into wins, of course we do, but it’s very important that everyone can see how committed the group are, as are the 1000-odd fans who came to back us, which I thought was evident today.”
